Biogen leads drug stocks north

ValBrickates Kennedy

BOSTON (MarketWatch)-- Biogen Idec Inc. helped lead drug stocks north Monday, as the broader market also moved into positive territory.

Strong start for blue chips

(11:21)

Paul Vigna and Joe Bel Bruno discuss why blue-chip stocks are off to a strong start Monday and look ahead toward the first-quarter earnings season, which kicks off after the bell with Alcoa.

Biogen Idec
BIIB, +3.53%
shares were up almost 7% at $78.39, reaching a 52-week peak on Monday.

The biotech group released positive Phase III clinical data for its multiple sclerosis drug candidate BG-12 that showed it helped lower the rate of relapse in certain MS patients. Biogen is expected to release data from a second Phase III trial for the drug during the second half of the year.

Biogen already markets two of the most popular MS drugs, Avonex and Tysabri, which are both injected medications. BG-12 has been seen as an improvement on those two drugs in part because it is taken orally.

Biogen’s good news dinged shares of Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
TEVA, +1.91%
, which is also working on an oral MS drug. Teva markets one of the leading MS drugs, Copaxone.

Teva shares were down 3% at $49.

Switzerland’s Novartis AG
NVS, +3.08%
already markets an oral MS drug, called Gilenya, which also had study results released Monday.

Earlier Monday, Endo announced it was buying medical device maker American Medical Systems Holdings Inc.
AMMD
for $30 a share in cash, or about $2.9 billion. Endo will also assume $312 million in debt.

Endo said the deal will help it diversify into the medical devices and treatment services markets. American Medical specializes in urology and gynecology products.Read more on Endo bid.

American Medical shares soared 32% to $29.48. The stock closed at $22.33 on Friday.

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